On 24 Oras Tuesday night, Hayden Kho's lawyer Atty. Lorna Kapunan showed a cellphone photo of her client looking happy, his face wound-free, supposedly contrary to reports that his face was wounded in a pineapple plantation in Tagaytay where witnesses say he tried to kill himself, reports GMANews.TV.
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PEP.ph reports that Kho's family stands by their belief that Kho did not try to kill himself again on the night of December 3. Here is the family's official statement released by Atty. Kapunan:
"Over the past several days, there have been various reports and sinister speculations regarding the present state of our son, Dr. Hayden Kho, Jr., and the cause and circumstances of his sudden hospitalization. Most morbid of all were the reports that our son once again attempted suicide.
"We had remained silent and avoided the media for many months now in the hope of regaining some semblance of normalcy in our lives. This time, however, we find it necessary to clarify the malicious rumors involving our son. Hayden did NOT attempt to commit suicide.
"Last Thursday night, Hayden was driving to Tagaytay to join his friends who were there when he started feeling nauseous and feverish. He stopped his car as he felt the need to throw up. He had successive bouts of vomiting accompanied by severe abdominal pains.
"Some people brought him to the Estrella Hospital in Cavite. We then asked that he be transferred to the Manila Doctors Hospital. When he arrived at the Manila Doctors Hospital, he was running a very high fever and experiencing intense pain in the midsection.
"His attending doctors there suspect that he is suffering from intestinal flu, which could have been induced or aggravated by stress. As you are all aware, Hayden is undergoing tremendous physical and emotional stress, with the unfortunate decision of the Board of Medicine to revoke his license to practice medicine.
"We appeal to the public's compassion and understanding, as the preference of our family is to maintain our privacy and to stay away from the limelight. Please allow our family, most especially our son, to deal with this matter in private.
"We have been through enormous amounts of pain and suffering since this whole ordeal started. We have kept our silence even when so many people were very quick to pass judgment and condemn our son. We have kept our silence even when some politicians ride on the issue in order to gain political mileage. Please allow us some space so that our son can mend his life and find his path. We implore Hayden's accusers to not condemn him prematurely and to just let the legal system decide his fate."
